KBC Group NV Buys 1,224 Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 82.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,707 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,224 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Vericel were worth $149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Vericel by 4,126.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Vericel by 48.1% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 22.2% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,773 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vericel during the third quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Vericel by 826.6% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,511 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,240 shares in the last quarter.

Vericel Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of VCEL stock opened at $59.70 on Friday. Vericel Co. has a 12-month low of $39.12 and a 12-month high of $63.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $57.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.05. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 995.17 and a beta of 1.72.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $57.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.32 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. On average, research analysts predict that Vericel Co. will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VCEL shares. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.14.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In other Vericel news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,595,700. The trade was a 8.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $587,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,427,545.12. This represents a 14.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,008 shares of company stock valued at $1,132,129. 7.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vericel Profile

Vericel Corporation, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and distribution of cellular therapies for sports medicine and severe burn care markets in North America. The company markets autologous cell therapy products comprising MACI, an autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane for the repair of symptomatic, and single or multiple full-thickness cartilage defects of the knee; Epicel, a permanent skin replacement humanitarian use device for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with deep-dermal or full-thickness burns; and NexoBrid, a biological orphan product for eschar removal in adults with deep partial-thickness and/or full-thickness thermal burns.